Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 404: Flirting from both sides
In the camp of the Guandong Army, all the princes looked dejected and walked back from outside one after another.

"Hey, this Dong villain is really patient. He has not sent any generals to lead troops out of the city to challenge us. It has been four days in a row. He just hides inside the pass. No matter how we yell at him, he won't come out. How can we fight him?"

Gongsun Zan slammed the blood-stained sword on the table.

Yuan Shu glanced at the princes and said indifferently, "You all boasted before, saying that I was affecting the morale of the army and delaying the supply of food and grass. Now I haven't done anything, and you still can't attack us."

"Okay, please stop saying a few words."

Yuan Shao yelled at him impatiently, then turned to look at Cao Cao.

"Meng De, what do you think we should do now?"

But Cao Cao didn't listen to him, but kept staring at Liu He in a trance.

Seeing that he didn't reply, Yuan Shao shouted again.

"Hmm? Benchu ​​called me?"

Yuan Shao said unhappily: "I ask you how we should deploy our army now? We can't just keep attacking like this."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao looked at Liu He and suddenly smiled for no apparent reason.

"Liu Taishou is both wise and brave. In just three years, he has almost completely eliminated the Xianbei threat that has plagued the northern border for nearly a hundred years. He must have a brilliant plan now. I would like to hear your opinion."

Liu He raised his eyebrows and thought, "Cao Cao has been trying to probe me these days, intentionally or unintentionally. It seems that he has set his sights on me. I have been lying low these days, and if I don't show something now, I'm afraid it will be unreasonable. Well, the progress over there with my fifth brother is going well, and it's time to implement the next plan, so I'll go with the flow."

He clasped his fists and smiled at everyone.

"He thinks that the most urgent issue is not how to attack, but how to defend?"

Everyone was stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Haha, defense? That's ridiculous. Could it be that the thief Dong dares to come out and fight with us? If so, it will be exactly what we want. We can gather a large army and destroy him in one fell swoop. Why should we defend?"

"Zhang Yang is right. I thought Liu would have a brilliant idea, but I didn't expect it to be just like this."

Even Yuan Shao looked disappointed.

However, among the crowd, there were two people who looked at Liu He with great interest, they were naturally Liu Bei and Cao Cao.

Cao Cao said, "Don't worry, everyone. Just listen to what Governor Liu has to say. I see what he said is not empty talk."

He bowed respectfully to Liu He and asked him to continue.

"Since Meng De has invited me, I will talk a little more. My army is not as strong as yours, and I have not been in the front line to attack the city in the past few days. However, I have not been idle, but have focused on another thing."

Cao Cao hurriedly asked, "Oh? What's the matter?"

Liu He did not answer directly, but asked him a question: "I wonder if Cao Gong has sent anyone to contact the two old generals Lu Zhi and Zhu Jun?"

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, and replied, "Of course. The two old generals command a large number of troops of the court, and have always been loyal to the Han Dynasty. Before we started the army, Benchu ​​and I agreed to instigate the two of them to form an alliance. With their more than 100,000 elite troops of the court joining us, the chances of defeating Dong Zhuo will naturally be higher. Moreover, the two of them hold high positions and are highly respected, especially Lu Gong, who has a high reputation in the Confucian classics community. This will be of great benefit to us in calling on the people of the world to fight the enemy together."

Liu He smiled and said, "What was the result?"

Cao Cao was embarrassed by the question: "I don't know why, the army led by the two old generals suddenly disappeared overnight. We sent several teams of messengers to look for them, but we couldn't find any trace, so we naturally couldn't contact them."

As he said this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Could it be that... Governor Liu has found out where they are?"

These words caused the princes to look at Liu He one after another.

Liu He nodded and said, "Yes, I have done a lot of research these days and finally found out where the 130,000-man army is. The place where they are stationed is not far from us."

Yuan Shao was delighted when he heard this: "That's great! I wonder where the old general is now? I will go and see him in person."

Cao Cao heard the key to Liu He's words. "What does Liu Taishou's suggestion of strengthening defense have to do with these two old generals?"

"Of course there is a connection, because the troops that will most likely attack our army later are not the defenders in Hulao Pass, but the armies in these two places."

Liu He's words caused a huge uproar.

"How is it possible? The two old generals have always been loyal to the country, how could they do such a thing as aiding the tyrant to commit atrocities?"

"Grandmaster Liu, please stop exaggerating and fooling people."

Liu Bei, who rarely spoke, suddenly said, "What does Governor Liu mean by that... the commanders of these two armies have changed?"

Liu He looked at him, then nodded solemnly.

"County Magistrate Liu guessed correctly. That's exactly what happened."

Everyone was extremely surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed reasonable.

Cao Cao slapped his thigh suddenly, secretly hating and saying: "We should have thought of this earlier. The thief Dong held the emperor hostage, and would definitely send a false edict to the army to seize the military power of the two old generals. No wonder the thief Dong has been so fearless these days. He must have arranged these two armies to attack us from the north and south. When our army was hastily responding, the hundreds of thousands of troops in Hulao Pass and even Luoyang City suddenly rushed out, and our army would be defeated without a doubt!"

After he said this, even Liu He looked at him with admiration.

"This Cao Cao is really amazing. With just a few words from me, he almost guessed Dong Zhuo's plan so accurately."

Yuan Shao also suddenly shouted: "No wonder, not long ago I learned that Niu Fu and Li Meng, two generals under Dong Zhuo, have not appeared in the army for a long time. These two are Dong's trusted generals, and Niu Fu is his son-in-law. He disappeared inexplicably, and must have been sent to take over the military power of the two old generals."

After hearing Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's analysis, all the princes were shocked.

"Oh, if that's the case, our army is in danger."

“We have to find a way to deal with it.”

"What else can we do? In my opinion, it is better to retreat for now and discuss it later."

Just because of this one incident, some of the allied forces were frightened and began to retreat.

"Be quiet!" Yuan Shao shouted to stop the chaos and then looked at Liu He.

"Since Governor Liu has found out where their troops are stationed, where exactly is it?"

Liu He held up two fingers and said, "After being taken over by Dong's men, Lord Lu's army camped in a river valley northwest of Yingchuan. Lord Zhu's army hid to the north of here, on the other side of the Yellow River, in a dense forest in the west of Henei County. It's less than a hundred miles from here after crossing the river."

Yuan Shao's face changed involuntarily: "What? It only takes one or two days to send troops from these two places to come here. If they launch a surprise attack, it will be hard to defend against."

He gritted his teeth, his face showing determination.

"For now, we must strike first and send troops to attack them in two places."

"Yes, what the leader said is exactly what I meant."

Liu He said: "Attack instead of defense is the best strategy. As long as we destroy or at least delay these two armies, our army can attack Hulao Pass with all our strength. However... He has a better idea."

Yuan Shao was delighted and asked hurriedly, "Oh? Governor Liu is very wise, what is his brilliant plan?"

Liu He held up four fingers and said, "Lure the snake out of its hole. Wouldn't it be better to take this opportunity to lure the thief Dong to Hulao Pass in person?"

Then he looked at the princes and motioned for them to come closer and listen.

All the princes immediately gathered together, and Liu He whispered the plan in their ears.

"Okay! Let's do it! When they capture Hulao Pass, Governor Liu will be credited with the first achievement."

Yuan Shao immediately issued a military order.

(End of this chapter)